After having finished first in last year’s World Solar Challenge in Australia, the Nuna8s has now also won the SASOL Solar Challenge in South Africa. The race was from Pretoria to Cape Town. The team won their victory on 1 October. V.O. is one of the proud team sponsors.
The aim of this year’s race was to cover as many kilometers as possible in the time available. In total, the solar vehicle Nuna8s covered almost 4,800 kilometers in eight racing days. The vehicle finished with a 173 kilometers lead on its main competitor. The project, team and race car are an initiative of the Technical University (TU) Delft. The underlying goal is to further develop durable technologies and promote the use of sustainable energy.
Setback
This year, about twenty cars participated from, for instance, Japan, Hongary and South Africa. The Dutch team consisted of nine Delft engineering students from various disciplines. There were also a couple of setbacks. For instance, during the race, the car was pulled over by the police. Team manager Sjoerd Stevens: ‘The feared that the car would cause traffic jams on the highway.’
Victory
The lead of the Dutch team on number two, the team from the Japanese Tokay University, was big enough so that the victory was not really in danger. Stevens: ‘Last year we focused specifically on the functioning of our team and the various roles that each team member has to play. From this, we have benefited this year.’
